Definition of Balance Sheet

statement showing a company's financial position at the end of an accounting period; also calledStatement of Financial Position. It presents the entity's asset, liabilityand stockholders' equityIt is classified into major groupings of assets and liabilities in order to facilitate analysis. Examples are current assets, fixed assets, current liabilities, and noncurrent liabilities. The accounting equation for the balance sheet is:
Assets = Liabilities + Stockholders' Equity
The balance sheet is useful to financial statement users because it indicates the resources the entity has and what it owes.

1. statement of a bank's financial position listing assets owned, liabilities owed, and owner's equity as of a specific date. Banks accept deposits (counted as bank liabilities) and make loans (counted as bank assets). This explains the importance of Asset-Liability Management in managing bank profitability and stability in earnings.
   Bank accounting systems differ from corporate accounting in that bank ledger accounts are balanced daily, resulting in a daily statement of condition, providing verification that a bank's books are in balance that day. This balance sheet information is reported quarterly to stockholders and the public, and to banking regulatory agencies in a bank's call report or report of condition. Contrast with income statement.
2. financial picture indicating assets owned and liabilities owed. The difference is referred to as net worth.

financial statement that gives an accounting picture of property owned by a company and of claims against the property on a specific date. The left (debit) side of a balance sheet states assets; the right (credit) side shows liabilities and owners' equity. The two sides must be equal (balance). The balance sheet is like a snapshot of the position of an individual or business at one point in time.

financial report, also called statement of condition or statement of financial position, showing the status of a company's assets, liabilities, and owners' equity on a given date, usually the close of a month. One way of looking at a business enterprise is as a mass of capital ( assets) arrayed against the sources of that capital ( liabilities and equity). Assets are equal to liabilities and equity, and the balance sheet is a listing of the items making up the two sides of the equation. Unlike a Profit and Loss Statement, which shows the results of operations over a period of time, a balance sheet shows the state of affairs at one point in time. It is a snapshot, not a motion picture, and must be analyzed with reference to comparative prior balance sheets and other operating statements.

accounting statement showing the financial condition of a company at a particular date. Listed on the statement are the company's assets and liabilities, and capital and surplus.

a financial statement in table form showing assets, liabilities, and equity, in which assets equal the sum of liabilities plus equity.

Example: Table 4.